1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to connectors and more particularly, to electrical connectors that couple accessories to an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many electronic devices include electrical connectors that can be used to couple accessories to such devices. For example, most cellular telephones include a connector that can receive and engage a corresponding connector of a charger. The connector of the charger typically includes a set of pins and the connector of the mobile unit has a set of corresponding electrical contacts. When the charger connector is inserted in the connector of the mobile unit, the pins of the charger connector contact the contacts of the telephone connector, which can permit the charger to provide a charging current to the battery of the mobile unit.
The pins of the charger connector and the contacts of the mobile unit connector, however, are typically exposed to the outside environment. As such, dirt or other contaminants may collect on either the pins of the charger connector or the contacts of the cellular telephone connector. If either of these components is contaminated in such a fashion, the electrical connection between them suffers, which can cause a degradation in the performance of the charger. This drawback is not limited to chargers, however, as the pins and contacts in virtually any type of connector are susceptible to such contamination.